Boot, especially ski boot or snowboard boot

ABSTRACT

A boot is disclosed that includes a shell which encloses a user&#39;s foot and at least part of his lower leg, a shell tongue attached to the shell, and a sock-like liner having a tongue. The sock-like liner is arranged in the shell and extends over a portion of from 20% to 80% of the height of the shell, such as to approximately half the height of the shell, while the tongue extends over a portion of from 80% to 130% of the height of the shell, such as to approximately 110% of the total height of the shell.

The invention relates to a boot, especially a ski boot or snowboard boot, according to the preamble of patent claim 1.

Boots, and especially ski boots and snowboard boots, have been known for a long time and conventionally consist of an outer shoe and an inner shoe, a user's foot being arranged in the inner shoe and being enclosed thereby, while the inner shoe is in turn arranged in the outer shoe, which generally constitutes a stabilising casing for the inner shoe, the inner shoe in most cases being completely surrounded by the outer shoe.

Such boots have many disadvantages, which consist firstly in the considerable weight of that inner/outer shoe construction. In addition, it is often necessary for both the inner shoe and the outer shoe to be laced separately from one another and to have to be opened again in order to step out of the shoe. Moreover, in a boot of the above-mentioned construction there is always a risk that moisture will collect between the inner shoe and the outer shoe, so that the inner shoe must be removed from the outer shoe in order to allow drying, which in turn requires a large amount of space because, as well as the outer shoes, the inner shoes naturally also require standing room.

Therefore, in order to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages, a one-piece boot construction has in the past been used, in which only one shoe was provided, which shoe enclosed a user's foot directly. That one-piece boot construction had many advantages, of which mention may be made, for example, of a reduced sole length, simpler handling of the boot and, in the case of a ski boot or snowboard boot, a more direct board feel. An important disadvantage of that one-piece boot construction is, however, that, in comparison with a “normal” boot with an above-mentioned inner shoe/outer shoe construction, the boot is very soft, especially in the region of “flex”, that is to say especially in the heel/ankle/shin region, which results in a high degree of movability in the shoe and, associated therewith, poor control of a ski or snowboard.

The object of the invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems while retaining a one-piece boot construction and to provide a boot which, as well as being simple to handle, sits comfortably on a user's foot and shin/calf and provides the user with a secure hold, adjustable stiffness and accordingly optimum control, especially for a ski or a snowboard.

The object is achieved by a boot, especially a ski boot or snowboard boot, according to patent claim 1.

In particular, the object is achieved by a boot, especially a ski boot or snowboard boot, comprising a shell which encloses a user's foot and at least part of his lower leg, and a shell tongue attached to the shell, and also a sock-like liner having a tongue, wherein the sock-like liner is arranged in the shell and extends over a portion of from 20% to 80% of the height of the shell, preferably to approximately half the height of the shell, while the tongue extends over a portion of from 80% to 130% of the height of the shell, preferably to approximately 110% of the total height of the shell.

An important aspect of the invention is that the boot comprises a shell which is equipped with a sock-like liner which does not extend over the entire height of the boot, or of the shell, but only over a portion of from 20% to 80%, so that a user's foot is enclosed substantially completely, that is to say at least as far as the ankle region, by the sock-like liner and in that manner finds optimum support in the boot, while the tongue attached to the sock-like liner extends over substantially the entire height of the boot, or of the shell, and in that manner optimally supports a user's forefoot with a lower region of the shell tongue and his instep with a middle region of the shell tongue and a user's shin with the upper region of the shell tongue and thus holds them in the boot according to the invention. In that manner, a user's foot finds optimum support, especially in the heel region, which is particularly important for stably securing a user's foot in a boot, while, depending upon the height of the sock-like liner, a user's ankle and lower leg region have a high degree of movability with, at the same time, optimum comfort and fit. By means of the tongue, which extends beyond the sock-like liner towards the boot shaft, it is at the same time ensured, in an advantageous manner according to the invention, that the “flex” of the shoe can be kept relatively stiff and yet comfortable, depending upon the desired use, so that optimum ski or snowboard control is ensured. It should be mentioned here that the stiffness of the boot, or its “flex”, can be adjusted by means of the shell tongue, which optionally has reinforcements and in addition, according to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, is attached to the shell in a detachable and replaceable manner.

In that manner, by replacing the shell tongue, it is possible to vary not only the stiffness or “flex” of the boot but also the field of use of the boot, because the boot can be optimised for normal skiing or snowboarding, for example, with a stiffer tongue, while an even stiffer tongue is suitable for adapting the boot according to the invention to fields of use which require even more precise control, for example in the case of trick skiing, the boot also being suitable, by replacing a stiff tongue with a soft to very soft tongue, as a comfortable boot, for example for walking.

According to a further particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the sock-like liner is fixedly connected to the shell and especially adhesively bonded thereto, so that the penetration of moisture between the shell and the liner is not possible. In addition, that fixed connection according to the invention of the sock-like liner to the shell also facilitates handling of the shoe, because it is ensured that the sock-like liner is always arranged in the boot correctly and with an accurate fit when the boot according to the invention is put on or taken off.

A further important aspect of the invention is additionally that at least a portion of the tongue, namely the portion whose height exceeds the height of the sock-like liner, is movable independently of the shell tongue, that is to say is not connected or adhesively bonded to the shell tongue. In that manner it is thus ensured on the one hand that the shell tongue can easily be replaced according to the above embodiments. Furthermore, the independent movability of the tongue and the shell tongue makes it even easier to step into and out of the boot according to the invention because the stiffer shell tongue can in each case be bent far forwards while the soft and flexible tongue, which is attached to the sock-like liner, for example stitched thereto or formed integrally therewith, can be moved and applied to the foot, or the shin, individually.

It should further be pointed out that, according to a further embodiment of the invention, the tongue has greater height and width dimensions than the shell tongue, so that the tongue, when viewed from a user's leg, covers the outer shell tongue completely and ensures comfortable wear.

In addition, the sock-like liner is seam-free, which also further improves the comfort of the boot according to the invention.

The sock-like liner preferably further has a substantially water-tight membrane, for example a membrane of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE or Teflon) which is impermeable to water but permeable to water vapour diffusion. As a result of that membrane which can be used according to the invention, the boot according to the invention can be configured to be water-tight.

Further embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the subsidiary claims.

The invention will be described below on the basis of an exemplary embodiment which is explained in greater detail on the basis of the figures, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic representation of a boot according to the invention; and

FIG. 2 shows individual representations of the components of the boot according to the invention.

In the following description, the same reference numerals are used for parts which are the same and which have the same function.

FIG. 1 shows a boot 10 according to the invention which has a shell 20 into which a sock-like liner 1 is inserted. The sock-like liner extends over substantially half the height of the boot 10, or of the shell 20. The sock-like liner 1 additionally has a tongue 30 which extends beyond the height of the sock-like liner to approximately 110% of the height of the boot. The boot 10 according to FIG. 1 is shown in the closed state, in which a shell tongue 2 rests on the tongue 30, it being clearly apparent that the height and width dimensions of the tongue 30 are greater than those of the shell tongue 2 so that, when the boot is closed, a user's leg comes into contact only with the tongue 30 but not with the shell tongue 2, which ensures a high degree of wearing comfort, even in the case of a stiff shell tongue.

FIG. 2 shows the fundamental components of the boot according to the invention in individual representations, a sock-like liner 1 having a tongue 30. In the finished state of the boot, the sock-like liner 1 is adhesively bonded in a fixed manner to the shell 20. FIG. 2 additionally shows a shell tongue which, according to the invention, is detachable from the shell and is also replaceable, as desired.

The core of the invention can thus be summarised as follows. In the boot according to the invention with a twin-tongue construction, a sock-like liner with an integral tongue is adhesively bonded to the shell. The access opening is thereby closed by the sock-like liner construction and forms an inner tongue which reaches substantially as far as the end of the shaft of the boot according to the invention. That tongue is covered substantially completely by an outer tongue, namely the above-mentioned shell tongue, which is fixed to the shell.

This give rise, among others, especially to the following three important advantages of the boot construction according to the invention:

-   1. better performance as a result of stiffer and variable adjustment     of the shell tongue; -   2. better comfort and an optimum fit owing to the inner tongue/sock     construction; and -   3. the possibility of a water-tight boot construction, the sock-like     liner, that is to say the sock-like insert, being in water-tight     form.

The comfort and fit are improved significantly as compared with the normal one-piece boot construction by the seam-free sock construction, which encloses the foot. In addition, the inner tongue/sock construction covers the outer tongue completely. As a result of this significant improvement in comfort, the stiffness of the boot can be increased by way of the outer tongue. As a result, the performance of the one-piece boot construction, which is categorised as very soft, can be improved significantly. That means that the construction allows the one-piece boot construction to achieve the same performance as a normal, that is to say outer shell/inner shell, boot construction. In addition, the boot can be made water-tight by means of the sock construction using a membrane.

It should be pointed out here that all the parts described above can be claimed as being fundamental to the invention on their own and in any combination, especially the details shown in the drawings. Modifications thereof are familiar to the person skilled in the art.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   1 sock-like liner -   2 shell tongue -   10 boot -   20 shell -   30 tongue 

1. A boot comprising: a shell which encloses a user's foot and at least part of the user's lower leg; and a shell tongue attached to the shell; and a sock-like liner having a tongue, wherein the sock-like liner is arranged in the shell and extends over a portion of from 20% to 80% of the height of the shell, while the tongue extends over a portion of from 80% to 130% of the height of the shell.
 2. A boot according to claim 1, wherein: the sock-like liner is fixedly connected to the shell.
 3. A boot according to claim 1, wherein: at least a portion of the tongue, the height of which exceeds the height of the sock-like liner, is movable independently of the shell tongue.
 4. A boot according to claim 1, wherein: the tongue has greater height and width dimensions than the shell tongue.
 5. A boot according to claim 1, wherein: the sock-like liner is in seam-free form.
 6. A boot according to claim 1, wherein: the sock-like liner has a substantially water-tight membrane which is impermeable to water.
 7. A boot according to claim 1, wherein: a stiffness of the boot is adjustable by means of the shell tongue.
 8. Boot A boot according to claim 1, wherein the shell tongue is attached in a detachable and replaceable manner to the shell.
 9. A boot according to claim 1, wherein: the sock-like liner extends over a portion of approximately half the height of the shell.
 10. A boot according to claim 1, wherein: The tongue extends over a portion of approximately 100% of the total height of the shell.
 11. A boot according to claim 2, wherein: the sock-like liner is adhesively bonded to the shell.
 12. A boot according to claim 6, wherein: the substantially water-tight membrane is a membrane of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
 13. A boot according to claim 6, wherein: the substantially water-tight membrane is permeable to vapor diffusion.
 14. A boot according to claim 7, wherein: the shell tongue has reinforcements. 